Chapter 185: Numbers

The first to speak was Filch. “I was followed when I went to get Ishiki.” He reported without preamble. “heh… they followed me ever since I left the house in Secondary Ring and all the way inside the Inner Ring and back.”

He paused for a moment and then sighed. “And when we attacked them… we found out that they were nothing more than just wooden puppets. They had humanoid shapes and had no faces. Oh… and they even bloomed toxic flowers, as I believe.”

Everyone went silent hearing that, assessing the information in their minds.

Jeanne’s beautiful face twisted with a mixture of fascination and disgust. “Puppets? That’s… creative. And terrifying. Someone’s controlling them from distance?”

“Appears so,” Ishiki confirmed. “They were, sophisticated enough to track targets and maintain stealth. Whoever sent them didn’t need to be physically present. And there is another issue I would like to raise… how did the two of those puppets kept monitoring and following us through the crowd and no one noticed?”

Santiago’s calloused hands clenched into fists on his knees. “That’s deeply troubling. Means they were more than one… and were using individual skills to reach the desired result.”

’This fella is very intelligent… and strong too it seems. He is not brawl for brains after all.’ Ishiki quickly conjured an image of the new guy he just met and it left a positive impact on him.

“And what would their reason be to follow Filch Exactly?” Yuki interjected smoothly.

“Maybe they indeed are working for the dragon… after all he quite liked Filch.” Ishiki said with a shrug.

“I don’t think so,” Jeanne said as she stretched her legs out, the movement somehow both casual and alert. Her cheeky energy hadn’t diminished despite the grim circumstances. “Even if he did… That monster wouldn’t necessarily do something like that.”

“I agree with her,” Filch said with characteristic flatness.

“I agree with that too…” Ishiki nodded.

This matter didn’t work out for too much time because the disaster was averted… both Ishiki and Filch were safe and no one followed them here or saw them entering this building.

However they didn’t let down their guard, the enemy was proficient in using biological weapons so there was no guarantee that they were completely safe.

Then Yuki gestured to the crude map spread across the table before them.

It depicted Aethelburg’s three rings in rough proportion—the vast Outer Ring which was now a sanctuary for the withering beasts, the Secondary Ring with its visible destruction, and the pristine Inner Ring where the Sun statue and the Castle were located.

“Current situation,” Yuki began, tapping the Secondary Ring’s marked section. “According to the system… only 593 players are alive now. Out of them most have surrendered and entered the Inner Ring, under the dragon’s rule.”

Everyone knew that. It was the information they could infer from their surroundings and the common Scenario information screen.

Yuki continued. “There are about 200 players left in the Secondary ring and its just been 3 days. People are loosing their will to fight… it actually obvious. Its been so long since we entered this scenario and it feels about right that we can’t defeat that dragon.”

“But that is not right. Situations have always been hard… haven’t they?” She looked at Ishiki and Filch.

They both knew what she meant by that. They were trapped in the Crimson Canopy for so long… and it seemed impossible to cross that harrowing forest.

But at the end that is precisely what they did… even though they almost died trying to achieve that. But they did achieve it and that was what was important.

And at the end of this harrowing fight, after they defeat the dragon they would finally be free from this scenario. That was what mattered the most.

“I can get almost 17 people.” Jeanne said after counting on her fingers.

“I might be able to get 10 people to join us.” The broad guy said with a soft chuckle.

“Heh… I am not that great at socializing but I guess I know about 6 or 7 players.” Filch followed in a low voice.

And then everyone went silent. Ishiki’s lips twitched as he looked at Yuki who was also looking back at him.

Ishiki looked at Yuki.

Yuki looked back at Ishiki.

Both silent.

None of them had any kind of connection out of the few people they knew. And hence they could not help to gather anyone up.

“Cough…” Filch cleared his throat and indicated to continue the meeting.

“That isn’t nearly enough,” Santiago observed, his voice carrying the weight of someone who understood numbers and their brutal implications. His demeanor suggested someone accustomed to upholding order—laws, structures, systems. “Not against that damned monster. We would need ten times that number just to have a fighting chance.”

Everyone agreed on that point.

“But… that is easy said than done.” Ishiki emphasized. “I mean… there is no way you can unite all the players in the Secondary Ring. They now have a better choice than to fight back. Why would they try and die when they can live here… in their eyes. No, In everyone’s eyes Earth is a distant dream now.”

“Can’t exactly blame them for choosing survival,” Jeanne muttered, though something in her tone suggested she held them in mild contempt regardless. “Fear makes cowards of us all. Well, most of us anyway.”

“Yeah,” Yuki agreed. “We need something they can be swayed with. Given hope or an alternative that doesn’t end in immediate execution—many would reconsider their allegiance.”

Ishiki’s eyes narrowed slightly as he followed the logic. “You want to recruit from the Inner Ring?”

“Yes.”

“That’s suicide,” Santiago said bluntly, his jaw tightening. “One person reports the recruitment attempt to the dragon, and everyone involved dies.”

“As opposed to our current trajectory,” Filch countered, “which ends with us dying anyway. Just over a longer timeframe and with less certainty about the method.”

Yuki sighed and then said in a slightly higher tone. “The risk is substantial. I won’t pretend otherwise. But consider the alternative—we remain fragmented and weak, the dragon consolidates power daily, and within weeks he’s built an empire we have no hope of challenging. At that point, resistance becomes truly impossible.”

That was something no one had an counter to. If that happened… they would never be able to leave here.

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